Take your Breathalyzer on-the-go
You’ll be able to get more than a hot dog and bag of chips at a vending cart in downtown Raleigh this weekend.
If you’re drinking at one of the bars in the Glenwood South district Friday night, you’ll have a chance to take an alcohol breath test, but it’ll cost you.
Yes, for $5 you can take an alcohol breath test (the term “Breathalyzer is a brand name, or I would just say that instead) at a push cart. The cart will be set up by Alcohol Educators, Inc. The service will let drinkers determine their blood alcohol concentration to help them determine whether they should drive home or not. The company’s slogan is apparently “DWI = $10,000. Knowing what you’d blow = Priceless.”
My guess is there will be more than one group of buddies who stumble upon on the vending service and challenge each other to see who can blow the highest BAC. But who knows, maybe the service will discourage someone from driving home with a BAC over North Carolina’s 0.08 percent legal limit.
The cart will be on the corner of Glenwood and Johnston Avenues (the same corner where Bogart’s is located) from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., according to a news release I read today. It won’t be there if there’s “inclimate weather” though.
Do you think this service will lead fewer people to drive home intoxicated or do you think it will spark more binge drinking among competitive friends?
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5 Responses to “Take your Breathalyzer on-the-go”
I’ve done a similar test in Key West, and it was enlightening. We did it for kicks and were amazed at how easily one surpasses the legal limit. I lost 2 friends to drunk driving my first year of college. It’s something I have no patience or tolerance for.
By ilinap on Jul 24, 2008
Awesome, I’ve heard of bars in other areas having them as a vendor-revenue thing (think pool tables), but this is interesting for Raleigh for sure. I always enjoyed seeing people with a hand-held at local bars (especially on big nights like NYE)… although, most people getting kicks out of it were welllll beyond driving point anyhow.
By Lisa Jeffries on Jul 25, 2008
Definitely a cool idea. Hopefully it will help keep a few folks who shouldn’t be driving off the roads. That said I feel like they aren’t really trying to be good Samaritans or anything by charging five bucks for it. A bar I went to in college had one that cost fifty cents.
By kitch on Jul 25, 2008
Ginny,
Your site has some great posts! (Great by my interests!) Fascinating is this one, and the one about the Durham Scrap Exchange.
What fun!
Anora
By Anora McGaha on Aug 1, 2008
@Anora Thanks a bunch!
By ginny on Aug 1, 2008